Health fund scam returns to haunt Maya on eve of assembly poll

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the UP National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has exposed Mayawati's robbery raj.

The scam, which saw two chief medical officers (CMOs) and one deputy CMO being murdered, returned to haunt Mayawati a few weeks ahead of the assembly polls.

The strong CAG indictment comes two days after the CBI had raided 40 premises in connection with the scam. The report blames the state's health and family welfare department functionaries, middlemen and contractors for guzzling `5,700 crore of the `8,657 crore released between 2005 and 2011 under NRHM.

Of the `5,700 crore, over `1,150 crore was transferred to a fake agency - Programme Management Society - without any open tender. All norms necessary for financial regulations were also flouted.

The amount, according to CAG, was released by an officer of the rank of principal secretary. But it was an unauthorised agency which was introduced by the state government for smooth parking of funds, the report says. Most of the work for which money was sanctioned and was shown to have been spent was not carried out.

According to the report, the UP Health Committee floated false tenders for construction and purchase of medicines. It approved the construction of over 550 health centres and even released funds for the purpose. But not a single centre was constructed. In what could be termed as brazen heist, while over `40 crore was released for upgrading 89 hospitals not a single hospital was upgraded.

Worse, the entire amount was not shown in the account books. The report reveals that `13.80 crore sanctioned for the blindness control programme was not utilised although accounts were fudged to show the money having been transferred.

Similarly, `28 crore meant for reproductive and child health went to line the pockets of politicians, officials and contractors. The report slams the state government for procuring excessive quantity of polio vaccines which were later discarded as waste. As a result, over `3.62 crore went down the drain in June 2009.

The money was siphoned without the approval of any competent authority, says the CAG's report which was leaked to journalists when Mayawati was busy campaigning in Punjab.

The report was submitted to governor B.L. Joshi on Thursday. While money was released for 20 companies to supply medicines, the medicines never reached hospitals.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said: 'I am surprised to know that the CAG report is being leaked. But one thing is clear that entire NRHM money was parked by the ministers and officers in not only Mayawati government but also in the erstwhile Mulayam Singh Yadav government.'

BJP leader Uma Bharti, whose party had welcomed the scam kingpin Babu Singh Kushwaha into the party, said, 'The financial fraud started when Mulayam was in power and continued during Mayawati's rule.'